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County to buy ambulance
By Ross Willis
Thursday, January 31, 2008 9:42 AM EST
The Toccoa Record
County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved the purchase of the last ambulance to be bought using SPLOST IV funds.
Stephens County Ambulance Service Director Ray Willis asked commissioners to approve the new addition to the emergency service’s fleet, saying that just as with each of the previous ambulance purchases, the “new” ambulance will be what is called a remount.
A remount, according to Willis, is a brand new vehicle chassis with a used, remodeled patient treatment area (also called “the box” portion of the ambulance) added. The net effect is basically a new vehicle with a much cheaper price tag.
Two bids were obtained for the new vehicle, according to county finance director Phyllis Ayers.
One bid was from Peachstate Ambulance of Tyrone with a bid of $98,804, while the second bid was submitted by Custom Truck and Body Works of Woodbury for $98,793.
Although the Woodbury, Ga., firm was the apparent low bidder on the vehicle, assistant ambulance service director Aaron Wilkinson said he recommended going with Peachstate for several reasons.
“[Peachstate] has been our ambulance and remount supplier since 1998, Custom Truck was only a couple of dollars more, and we have had a good working history with Peachstate,” Wilkinson told commissioners.
Wilkinson and Willis said the new ambulance will have the largest “box” on it that Peachstate manufactures, and the vehicle will be used for out of town transfers and longer trips.
“This ambulance will actually replace one we got from Peachstate in 1998,” Wilkinson told commissioners.
“The last ambulance we got from them [of comparable size] cost $96,196,” he said, adding that Peachstate originally wanted to charge around $115,000 for the one under consideration by commissioners. However, after negotiating with the company on options and other items, the firm trimmed approximately $17,000 from that price.
The new ambulance will be a Ford F-450 model with a Caterpillar engine, Willis said.
“The ambulance service has $230,314 left in its SPLOST IV account, and the purchase of this ambulance will leave $131,510,” Ayers told commissioners.
Willis said the final vehicle purchase for the ambulance service with the SPLOST IV revenues will be a new QRV (Quick Response Vehicle) which carries rescue and extrication equipment, including the famed Jaws of Life.
“We will begin looking at getting a new QRV in the near future, and that will be the last vehicle that the ambulance service will get using SPLOST money. After that, the county will have to buy new ambulances and equipment out of its yearly budget,” Willis said.
“I really hope that the county continues to buy a new ambulance every year so we can keep the fleet updated on a continual basis. I don’t want the people of this county to have to go through what we went through before SPLOST IV was passed and we started getting a new ambulance each year. Back then, we were constantly having ambulances break down on [Highway] 365 and in town while on calls, or they were always sitting in the shop,” he said.
The first two ambulances purchased using SPLOST IV revenues are already hitting the high mileage mark, with one of them approaching 100,000 miles and the other well over 120,000 miles, he said.
“Those ambulances are still doing good and are serving just fine, but in another year, we will need to get them replaced because that mileage will continue to grow and eventually will become a serious problem. No one wants to see us get into the shape we were in a few years ago. To get out of that predicament would cost a lot of money all at one time. It’s so much easier and better for everyone just to continue the revolving yearly replacement we are on now,” Willis said.
In other business:
Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the commissioners to sign all necessary check writing privilege cards for each bank with which the county does business.
Ayers said Homeland Security rules require those cards to be maintained in an up-to-date fashion, and to do that, the former county clerk must be removed from the county’s check writing privilege list.
Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution in support of prescribed fires.
Stephens County Emergency Management Agency Director Becky Wall said prescribed fires are a useful management tool.
“I certainly recommend that you support [prescribed fires]. It puts us at lesser risk of wildfire which is a significant risk anyway due to the large amount of forestry lands inside Stephens County. This is something that is part of the U.S. and Georgia Forestry plans,” Wall told commissioners.
Commissioners unanimously approved a rural fire defense memorandum of understanding between the Georgia Forestry Commission and Stephens County Fire Department (consisting of all seven of the county’s volunteer fire stations).
Ayers said this is a standard annual agreement.
The main point of the memorandum is to delineate who is responsible and who “takes the lead” in the event of a forest fire, according to county attorney Rusty Smith.
Commissioners unanimously approved the cancelation of the commission’s Feb. 11 work session and Feb. 12 regular meeting so commissioners can attend a legislative conference in Atlanta.
Commissioners will convene on Feb. 26 at 9:30 a.m. for its next work session and at 10 a.m. for its next regular meeting.
Commissioners entered executive session to discuss a personnel matter.
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